Confronting Poverty through Technology

June 21, 2018

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3 minute read

Compassion Generation

This series is about youth who strive to make this generation one of compassion. They are responding to the brokenness in the world by taking action with Compassion Canada. We hope these stories inspire and encourage you.

Confronting Poverty through Technology

Meet three students who are transforming the world around them through technology.

For many of us in Canada, the word technology brings to mind tech startups and exciting up-and-coming careers. Technology is a way to connect with friends and do schoolwork. Or perhaps it is invisible to us—we take things like lights, appliances, and transportation for granted.

But for many young people living in poverty, technology is a tool God has uniquely gifted them with. Through it, they have been able to transform their circumstances and even their communities, ultimately to glorify God in all that they do.

Gabriela is an aspiring aviation mechanic from El Salvador. Born into poverty, such a career should have been impossible for her. “Only a miracle could have gotten me this far,” she says. Miracles did indeed happen—in a field dominated by male students, Gabriela received one of three scholarships to study aviation mechanics at her school. Though still in school, she has already been promised a job in aircraft maintenance at El Salvador’s international airport. Gabriela credits her determination to succeed in this field to the foundation she gained at the Compassion program. “Girls like me are usually already pregnant or quit school for many other reasons,” she says, “I’m incredibly thankful and blessed for the support I have received throughout all these years to stay focused on what God wants for me.”

Around the globe, in Ghana, a teenager named Richard regularly wows his community with the things he creates using spare parts he finds at a local garbage dump. He built a fully functional radio without any training, then a motorized toy ride-on car, complete with a built-in MP3 player. He also creates solar-powered cellphone chargers, flashlights, and more. Amazed by his gift, the staff at his local Compassion program arranged an apprenticeship for him with an electrician. Richard now earns extra money fixing radios, TVs, and other electronics. His dream is to become a mechanical engineer and eventually build cars and planes.

Five thousand kilometres to the east, in Kenya, a young woman named Synthiaand four of her schoolmates developed an app to help protect girls from the horrific practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). The app, called i-CUT, connects girls to emergency services, survivor resources, and law enforcement. FGM is illegal in Kenya, but the key to abolishing it is empowering and equipping girls in seeing the law enforced—a need these girls hope their app meets. Synthia and her classmates entered the 2017 Technovation challenge at Google headquarters and were the only African team selected as finalists, placing second overall in the competition. For them, this was a stepping stone to a bright future in the tech industry. Synthia aspires to become a computer scientist and a role model to other girls. “I want to develop solutions that will help the world become a better place,” she says.

God wants you to live in the fullness of his Kingdom no matter what your gifting or interests are. Missionary, engineer, developer, social worker, or inventor—we all have something to contribute to the Kingdom. God delights in seeing us use our unique gifts to glorify Him.

These three students are proof that no matter your background or what gifts and interests God gives you—be it science, technology, art, or something else entirely—you can use it to live out your calling to the fullest and impact the circumstances of the world around you in transformative ways.